This website grew out of the activities of
Sylvia and Stephen Sharnoff, who did the photographic fieldwork
for the book Lichens of North America, by Irwin
M.Brodo and the Sharnoffs, published in November, 2001 by Yale
University Press. For more information about the book, please
go to The Book. For a brief introduction
to lichen biology and how lichens interact with the greater environment,
go to Lichen Biology and the Environment
. Information about lichens and wildlife, including invertebrates,
can be found at Lichens and Wildlife.
For a description of how people have made use of lichens, including
an extensive bibliographical database, click on Lichens
and People. Check out the Useful Links
page for many useful connections to this project and to the world
of lichens.

Please note that the scientific names are updated periodically, but in citing older references I have kept the earlier names. The most significant example is that all lichens in the genus Cladina are now considerded to be in Cladonia.

Lichen Species PhotosWe have photos of about 1,250 different species of lichens. To see photos of them, as well as numerous photos of lichen mixtures, lichens from a distance in the landscape, lichens as used by animals and people, lichen anatomy and other lichen-related topics go to the Lichens Home Page on the Sharnoff Photography website.

For photos of lichens on this informational section of the website, see:

"Are you taking pictures of lichens?"
Nose to the ground, I was examining my photo subject with a magnifier,
my complicated-looking camera and flashes next to me. I was startled.
In more than 20 years (sometimes sporadic, sometimes obsessive)
of this odd behavior, this was only the second passer-by to mention
lichens--Sylvia Sharnoff

Lichens are the most overlooked of the
conspicuous organisms in the natural landscape. The eye often cannot see what the mind does not already
know.